Winter already? Snow, deep freeze from Rockies to East Coast

Associated Press
Monday, Nov. 11, 2019 4:27 p.m. | Monday, Nov. 11, 2019 4:27 p.m.

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A woman walking the half mile from the Chicago Aquarium to the Adler Planetarium braces in a stiff wind and blowing snow off Lake Michigan, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Chicago.

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Snow covers graves where veterans are buried at The Great Lakes Cemetery on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Holly, Mich.

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A woman walking the half mile from Chicago’s Adler Planetarium to the Chicago Aquarium braces herself in the stiff wind and blowing snow off Lake Michigan, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Chicago.

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A lone hiker navigates the 31st street beach bike trail in a stiff wind and blowing snow off Lake Michigan, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Chicago.

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Students head to class Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich., after a fall storm dumped several inches of snow on southwest Michigan.

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People walking the half mile from the Chicago Aquarium to the Adler Planetarium brace themselves as wind and snow blow Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Chicago.

A woman walking the half mile from the Chicago Aquarium to the Adler Planetarium fights a stiff wind inverting her umbrella in the blowing snow off Lake Michigan, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Chicago.

CHICAGO — An arctic air mass that brought snow and ice to an area stretching from the Rocky Mountains to northern New England on Monday was poised to give way to record-breaking cold temperatures.

In Chicago, where as much as 6 inches of snow fell, an Envoy Air flight from Greensboro, N.C., slid off an icy runway at O’Hare International Airport as it tried to land at about 7:45 a.m. None of the 38 passengers and three crew members were injured, according to the city’s aviation department. And in Kansas, the highway patrol reported that a truck driving on the highway lost control on an icy road and slammed head-on into another truck, killing a juvenile in the other vehicle.

NEW: As snow and cold sweep east across the country, new passenger video shows the frightening moment an American Airlines plane skid off the runway due to icy conditions while landing at Chicago’s O’Hare International airport; no injuries were reported. https://t.co/fLSXAnSPl5 pic.twitter.com/swmGGLefOn

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 11, 2019

Snowfall totals could reach up to a foot or more in some areas of Indiana, Michigan and Vermont, according to the National Weather Service. Other places in the path of the air mass saw ice and rain. Denver saw just a few inches of snow but suffered numerous accidents on icy roadways because the snow fell during the morning commute.

More than 950 flights were canceled at Chicago’s airports and officials in the area opened warming centers. In Michigan, some schools closed early, as did dozens of schools in the St. Louis area.

It's official! Chicago has set a new snowfall record for November 11, with over 3 inches of snow reported at O'Hare https://t.co/15iSoZ7Iod pic.twitter.com/BqO9wwyNdp

— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) November 11, 2019

The snow and ice was just the first punch from a weather system that pushed frigid air from Siberia across an area stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast. Temperatures below freezing were forecast as far south as Texas’ Gulf Coast.

“This is an air mass that’s more typical for the middle of January than mid-November,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Birk. “It is pretty much about the coldest we can be this time of year (and) it could break records all over the region.”

Given how quickly cities are changing over to snow today...It is looking more and more likely we will see SNOW in Tennessee come tonight into tomorrow. Nashville to Knoxville has the best shot and then the whole state of Kentucky can expect SNOW! Full breakdown on @weatherchannel pic.twitter.com/3AlkNKhw7M

— Chris Bruin (@TWCChrisBruin) November 11, 2019

According to Birk, the lows on Tuesday could drop into the single digits or low teens in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, with highs climbing no further than the low 20s. The forecast high of 21 degrees for Chicago would be a full seven degrees lower than the previous record set for Nov. 12.

Record Breaking Temperatures Likely Tue. Lowest Wind Chill Tuesday AM 11 below zero to zero. Wind Chill Tuesday afternoon will be in the single digits. Wednesday AM will also be cold with lows from 5 to 12 degrees. Lowest Wind Chill Wednesday AM 2 below zero to 3 above zero. pic.twitter.com/BQ80g8rEVJ

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) November 11, 2019

In some areas, temperatures plunged quickly. Temperatures in Denver climbed past 70 degrees over the weekend only to fall to 14 degrees early Monday.

One area where the low temperatures was particularly concerning was in central Wyoming, where officials were searching for a 16-year-old autistic boy who went missing wearing only his pajamas on Sunday, prompting a search that included certified human trackers, helicopters, dogs, and planes.

The National Weather Service said areas west of the Rocky Mountains would be spared the arctic air, with above average temperatures expected in some of those places.